Taiga had avoided everyone, well as best as she could, that was until dinner time, she had showed up after Ty and his siblings had gone through the buffet line. This caused her to sigh heavily as she put all the food that she could find left onto her plate, pushing it all into the fire before she set her plate on top of all the other dirty dishes, taking a seat at the emptiest end of a table, folding her arms on the table before resting her head upon them. She listened to everyone talk and laugh, even watched as they interacted, laughing and giggling together. She felt like she was on the outside of it, it was weird that even here at camp, she was still an outsider. though one thing she had not noticed was that she was sitting down by Angel and Jericho until she focused on the male talking. She sat up quickly, looking at the two of them as she gave them a smile, she was trying hard to get out of the funk that she was in but it was rather hard for her to do so at the moment. "Hi guys....." was all she manage to say to them as she gave them a weak smile.

"Don't worry about it," Abby responded, eating another forkful of leafy green lettuce. She did have a pretty good idea as to what it had been about, and she understood completely. Various other campers tended to behave more or less the same when they went even a year without being claimed. How much worse would it be to have been here for so long without any acknowledgement from your godly parent?

"I took my medicine, so it's alright. I wouldn't have been able to get by the Ares Cabin without it," Abby said, chuckling a little. While the mess did bug her a bit, it wasn't enough to agitate her to any real extent. The smell of the meat had more of an effect on her than the mess to be honest. It always made her just a little nauseous, though she hid it rather well.

"Have you heard about the party tonight?" she asked after making sure no one could overhear their conversation. "I hear that only a few kids got invited at all, though most everyone else plans on going to the beach tonight for a party of their own." Personally, she hadn't received an invitation. Unlike the Aphrodite girls, however, it didn't actually bother her all that much. It was probably just a get-together rather than an actual party.

~~~~~

"Yeah, a little," Rey mumbled, her head remaining on her arms. The mention of ice cream did get her to perk up, raising her head to see what Crystal was talking about before devouring the sample on the spoon. She closed her eyes to savor the peanut-buttery taste as it melted in her mouth. "That was really good!" she exclaimed, opening her eyes and looking to Crystal, who took the spoon back.

She answered Crystal's question with a nod, her stomach twisting a bit to think about apologizing to her. She really, really wasn't looking forward to doing that. As she waited for Crystal to return, fidgeting with anxiety, she kept an eye out for Jessie, afraid that he would come and attack her or something. Her fear of him wasn't really healthy, but he had threatened her and she was scared of him as a matter of principle, so it wasn't really surprising in the least.

Not for the first time, she wondered if she should ask someone to stick with her so that he couldn't attack her, but she dismissed the idea as silly. No one would really care all that much for starters, and it would make her seem like even more of a little kid. No, it seemed that she was well and truly stuck.

Chance laughed and made soothing motions with his hands, trying to calm Phoebe down. "It's alright. Probably hurt you more than it hurt me, an' Ah know it's an accident. Trust me, Ah get hit often enough on purpose ta know the difference."

He was glad the injury wasn't as bad as Phoebe seemed to assume, though. He really wanted to talk to Angel, and he'd need all the courage he could get to say what he wanted to say. The last thing he needed was to feel like a klutz. He wasn't going to mention it to Phoebe, though. The new girl would have apologized even more, and it wasn't really her fault. He made himself focus on her worries instead of his own, and grinned reassuringly. "Besides, if Ah need ice, the best place for it is the mess hall, an' Ah was just on my way there. Hungry?"

---

"Yeah, I'm invited to that party... I need to remember to get spoons before I go, Crystal wasn't sure if she had enough. Rey did find you to invite you, right? I'm pretty sure she was going to, but she might have gotten distracted or tired. Today's been pretty hectic, after all." Cat finished her next to last rib, and contemplated cleaning up some before attacking the last. On one hand she hated being messy and sticky, although she didn't get nearly as uncomfortable about it as Abby. On the other hand, though, there was one rib left, and any cleaning efforts would immediately be negated.

Finally thirst and the thought of touching her glass with sticky fingers was enough to decide the issue. She licked her fingers to make the most of the barbecue sauce, and then finished up with the wet napkin before taking a deep drink of tea. "I wouldn't blame Rey if she did get distracted... especially if her day's been as weird as mine..."

Cat took another drink and ran her fingers across the bandage on her cheek, remembering the tree branch that had jerked her hand away earlier, and the other branch that had saved her from a nasty fall. I really want to think it's my mother... but... I've gotten my hopes up before. I'm not going to tell anyone until I'm sure.

A deep breath banished the tension in Cat's gut, and reminded her of the last piece of barbecue on her plate. She picked it up and was about to take a bite when her chair was jostled sharply. Sauce smeared all over her face, and the rib escaped to the freedom of the floor. She grabbed the napkin and began wiping off her face even as she turned to glare at the person who'd bumped into her. "Hey, watch with the shoving!"

---

There were signs of occupation on the other bunks when Nick hurried into the cabin to put on clean clothes and leave behind his damp towel, but he was in too much of a hurry to investigate them fully. I'll meet them at dinner! Or after dinner. Whatever works!

The laces of his favorite shoes were tangled again, but he shoved his feet into them anyway. Maybe someone could help him with them later. He was still pulling on his shirt as he raced out the door, and completely failed to notice that it was backward. He skidded into the mess hall moments later, and smiled brightly at the nymph who was replenishing the supply of barbecue. "Hi, Willow!"

The nymph smiled back and mussed his hair before hurrying off to get another bowl of strawberries. Nick happily filled his plate and was about to start toward the fire when he saw Mr. D. sitting at the staff table. Inspiration hit, and he headed that way instead. He set the plate of cake and strawberries he'd been planning on having for dessert in front of the sour-faced god. "Here you go, Dad!"

Offering made, Nick skipped off to the nearest table while Mr. D tried to maintain his usual scowl. "Hi, Jericho! Hi, Taigi! Can I sit with you guys?"

Phoebe nodded her head, still a little concerned that he was actually hurting but being too macho to admit it. "Okay- er- yeah. I'm pretty hungry, actually. Do you think they'll have lemonade? I didn't see any at lunch, but I'm sure there was some. I could smell it, but I just didn't see any pitchers with anything lemonade looking in them. I figure since you've been here a while you might know..."

She followed him into the mess hall and into the line. Fortunately enough time had passed since the swarm originating from the Ares' cabin had gone through that the line had been replenished for the other campers. "Ohh, Barbecue ribs... Is that quiche? I love quiche! It's really ha-OH!! It has spinach in it, too!" Behind them in line a Son of Ares' face lit up at the prospect of someone leaving yet more ribs for him.

"How long have you been around here, exactly, Chance? Do people stay around a long time and become councilors or something? How does it work?"

---

Crystal was not gone long. Her dinner consisted of a salad, piece of fruit and ice water of which a fair portion of the salad went to Chione. The pale girl set her tray down and immediately started in on her remaining food, anxious to get back to the cabin and make sure that everything would be ready for the guests. "So... everyone but one is coming? That... that's good. That means more ice cream for everyone else... right?" She said softly between bites of her apple.

"Even if it's just us... I mean that would be a lot of ice cream, but I can make sure it keeps for another day. This is pretty last-minute...."

When Crystal returned with her food, it was all Rey could do to keep from bursting into tears and apologizing right then. It was actually rather impressive that she managed to keep from doing so and was really a testament to her willpower. Still, when Crystal brought up her failure, with no ill intent of course, Rey lost it, sobbing into her arm as she tried to splutter out an apology to Crystal. "I-I'm s-sorry, Crystal," she stammered through her sobs. "I-I tried to g-get J-Jessie to c-come, but h-he didn't want t-to, and h-he w-was really mad at m-me and I-I'm k-kind of a-afraid that he'll c-come after m-me." Several other students turned to see what the commotion was, though they refrained from coming over to check it out once they noticed Crystal. Tears weren't really all that uncommon for the Hebe cabin after all.

---

"I might just have to go with you then," Abby replied, finishing off the last of her salad after she completed her sentence. "Rey's a sweetie, and it sounds like a good time. Crystal's the daughter of Chione, right? Ice cream and popsicles and all that?" She had vaguely remembered a girl from the previous year who she seemed to remember being named Crystal, but she didn't actually know if that memory was correct. There were just so many kids around the camp that it was hard to keep track of them all. But she definitely remembered the kids from the Chione cabin complaining about how many requests they got to make ice cream or other delicious frozen treats at several of the counselor meetings the year before.

"If you need some water to clean up with, all you have to do is ask," she said with a smile, suppressing her urge to squirm at the mess on her friend's face after the kid had bumped into her. "Do you know who all's going to be there? Is it just for the older campers or did they open it up to the younger ones as well?" Personally, it didn't matter much to Abby either way. The question was purely one of curiosity for her. She loved meeting new people after all and wasn't afraid of socializing with the new campers.

Jessie sighed as he walked along before the cabins. Many people were out tonight, talking and laughing. Everyone had their friends and their cliques. He was deffinetly out of place umong any of them. This sort of thing, having to deal with people, was not his forte at all and constantly being reminded of that, was a major pain. He sighed, running a hand through his hair, before looking back up at the sky. He was unsure really where he was headding, it wasn't like he was really welcomed anywhere for that matter. People were happier when he was not around and when he was, they were all on edge and afraid. He should be happy about that right? He sighed, pulling his hood up. This was a major pain in the backside really. He was much better off on his own, where no one could judge him and he didn't have to bother trying to please those who would never be satisfied with who he was.

Angel glanced up, giving a warm smile to the female. He was glad for the company, though being the center of attention in many ways got to be old and troublesome. It was nice to make real friends and that was one of his goals. He was going to respond to her, when the other male showed up. Seemed Jericho had been making friends of his own, that was good. He lightly took a bite of his food, staying silent for the moment. It had been a long day, full of trouble and twists. Things were evolving, though they were taking the difficult way of doing so. He looked around the room once more, at all the people he knew. Tonight, he would attempt to hae fun and relax.

Jericho smiled, waving at the girl then at Nick. He did not mind the company at all, the more the merrier right? He took another bite of his salad, his mind moving through what he wanted to accomplish during this time. He was free..well, to a point and he had a chance to choose for himself now. He looked at the other three, wondering what they were thinking. Angel and the girl seemed to have a lot on their minds, Nick was a ball of energy as usual. He laughed a bit silently, then paused. He had an idea. He could only speak through dreams.. Being the son of a dream and sleep god was perfect! They could have fun while they slept, talk and still be recharged for the next day. It was a good idea.. if they wanted.

Taiga smiled at the two males as she slowly started to eat her food, they weren't really talking so she didn't say anything, a fond smile crossed her face when she saw Nick, waving to him. She motioned for him to go ahead and have a seat next to her. "Hey Nick. So how was your first day back at camp?" she asked him as she smiled, eating at the salad that was on her plate, leaving the meat for last. "Have you met Angel and Jericho yet?" she asked him as she motioned to the males that were sitting across from her, fidgeting a bit as she tugged at the camp shirt that she was wearing. She jerked when she felt something, she turned her head as she tried to figure out what it was exactly that she had felt, it was something that just made her notice it. Maybe someone was finally being claimed.

"Jus' pray ta Dionysus and ask him ta change yer drink to whatever ya want." Chance smiled at the girl's enthusiasm, and took some of the ribs she'd passed up as well as a slice of quiche. He took a bite of the quiche while waiting for the line to move so he could get to the rolls he saw up ahead.

"Ah've been comin' since Ah was ten... th' monsters got ta be too much fer Mom when my brother was born-- he's Hermes' kid, too. The kids older than me mostly got good enough at survivin' that they don't have ta come ta camp, an' Chiron more or less trusts me, so Ah'm counselor." He chose not to add that some of those older siblings had died before they became better fighters-- no sense in scaring the new girl with that.

---

Cat frowned darkly at the Ares camper who'd jostled her, then tossed her head and began wiping at her face and hands with the wet napkin she'd had the forethought to bring. "I think the idea was to invite just a few campers about Crystal's age. You know how Rey is about everyone needing friends, but Crystal's pretty shy."

After fastidiously grooming away all traces of barbecue sauce, Cat smiled at Abby. "Want to head over there now? Crystal would probably be happer with people to help when guests start arriving, and I guess I'm done eating now."

---

"It's nice to meet you, Angel!" Nick beamed, looking like a cherub himself as he sat down next to Taigi. Camp was fun before... but it's going to be so much better with everyone here! He smiled at Angel and began firing cheerful questions at him too quickly to be answered, somehow cleaning his plate while keeping up the mile-a-minute catechism. "So how long have you been going to camp? Who's your mom or dad? Are you excited about being back at camp? What's your favorite thing to do here?"

Angel laughed a bit, finding the other to be amusing in some ways. He listened to him talk, not minding the questions at all. As he could he would answer them for the other. "For a few years now, my father is Eros" he says, "It is nice to be back at camp, gives me a chance to brush up on my archery which also is my favorite thing about being here." He was not put off by the more personal things, like the inquiery about his parent. Many were sensitive about it, but he had no shame in his father. He slowly slipped out of the table for a moment, "excuse me for a moment." He returned up to the line for a moment, to retrieve some napkins and an apple along the way. He noticed Chance within the line, speaking to a female. It was good to see he was getting along with people now and making new friends.